7 ms·

I voted for Obama twice. I feel duped.

by adam12 10y ago

nolepointer 10y ago
That should have been obvious to you before the 2012 election. But okay.
- tunap 10y ago
  I believe Obama's pick for VP was an obvious enough contradiction of his platform. Retaining Gates & Geitner solidified, IMO, "change" was not in the cards. Trump is an anomoly to the vetted & selected candidates we usually get to "elect", for better or worse. His cabinet picks hint at the latter, time(not the MSM) will tell.
acjohnson55 10y ago
I'm pissed, but I don't feel duped. But that's simply because no serious presidential contender, save maybe Bernie Sanders, would have done otherwise. Well, maybe Trump. But I believe his distrust of the intelligence community is only due to the fact that he thinks their findings regarding Russia undermine his legitimacy. Once that blows over, I expect he'll be more than happy having the authoritarian tools of the intelligence community, if he's smart enough to heal the rift. What blows my mind a bit is that the rise of Trump should make it crystal clear just how dangerous these powers could be in the wrong hands. Obama should understand this more than anyone.
- EGreg 10y ago
  Ron Paul
- ordbajsare 10y ago
  "save maybe Bernie Sander" Pray for an asteroid! The strong will survive, and cunts like your will rot into forgotten memory.
- pavlov 10y ago
  I suspect that the intelligence apparatus is so influential across the administration that it's very hard for the President to rein it in. Obama has had to make compromises on which issues he's going to push for. The disappointingly slow progress on Guantánamo Bay was an example of this... And that's a single prison camp with a relative handful of people in it. Digital surveillance is an out-of-control monster that all branches of intelligence just want to have more of, as evidenced by this latest decision on data sharing.
  - tomp 10y ago
    How difficult is it not to issue an Executive Order 10 days before leaving the office?!
    - pavel_lishin 10y ago
      I don't know how Executive Orders work; can they be rescinded, countermanded, or otherwise cancelled out by the succeeding President?
      - acjohnson55 10y ago
        Absolutely. Although it can be difficult to unwind all of their effects.
- talmand 10y ago
  There were many people pointing out the dangers of consolidating so much power into the Presidency over the last few years but most of them were told to shut up with their paranoia conspiracies and racist rhetoric.
  - drabiega 10y ago
    It's probably the 'last few years' part that is what gets someone accused of racism. Pushing the boundaries of presidential power is not unique to Obama and indeed has no party affiliation.
    - jsight 10y ago
      Yeah, I think a lot of people have been concerned with this ever since 9/11 and the big expansions of power that seemed to go with it. I completely agree with you that there is no party affiliation with this, and to me that is the most concerning part.
  - edc117 10y ago
    It also didn't help that Congress is more and more doing absolutely nothing of substance. The last 8 years have been nonstop obstructionism, and the next 4 appear to be headed the same way. (note: this is not to say I agree with overuse of executive powers, I do not.)
    - zaroth 10y ago
      Not sure why you think next 4 years will be the same... I think the next 4 years will be markedly different due to Trump leadership and Republican majorities in the House and Senate. We're hearing about Repeal & Replace in January, maybe as late as March and voting has already started to lay the framework to allow passage with 51 votes in the Senate.
      - dmix 10y ago
        Regardless Obama expanded executive power more than any president in history. So even if Trump doesn't plan to expand it he has plenty to work with already. I doubt he'll reverse it other than streamlining bloated intel agencies.
- lucker 10y ago
  >maybe Trump I doubt it. Trump has praised NSA surveillance in the past and has hinted that Snowden should be executed. Unless he was just saying such things to try to get the intelligence community on his side pre-election, he's in favor of authoritarian tools.
- ComputerGuru 10y ago
  > But that's simply because no serious presidential contender, save maybe Bernie Sanders, would have done otherwise. I have my own issues and gripes with him, but I feel that Rand Paul was also one of the few who spoke sanity when it came to all these matters. In the only primary debate he actually participated in, when asked about interfering in Syria, his response was "we've done that how many times now - when has it worked out for us?" which, of course, the populist audience did not like.
  - acjohnson55 10y ago
    Fair point!
jra_samba 10y ago
Why ? Were you not paying attention ? https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/blogtalk-obamas-fisa-vote/?_r=0 https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/blogtalk-obam... In 2008, before the election, Obama clearly showed he would increase the surveillance state when in office. In what way did he dupe you ? He already showed what he would do in office in July 2008. Claiming buyer's remorse now is too little too late. The above vote was why I decided not to vote for him.
antisthenes 10y ago
His 2 biggest accomplishments are: 1. Gay marriage/rights 1.5 Pulling out of Iraq (half an accomplishment, because the US had no business being there in the first place) ACA is a dud, because it does nothing to address the artificially inflated costs. So, in 8 years, we traded gay marriage for insane massive surveillance and a 'recovery' in job growth in the gig economy. Is that a fair exchange? Maybe, for the LGBT community. To be fair, he did inherit a giant pile of shit in 2008, but to think of him as some accomplished or revolutionary leader is a mistake. In the end, he's just another centrist status quo "liberal".
- des429 10y ago
  Gay marriage is what makes headlines on the mainstream news. Clauses related to privacy hidden away in an executive order do not.
- 3131s 10y ago
  Pulling out of Iraq (half an accomplishment, because the US had no business being there in the first place) Not even a half accomplishment considering that there are still 5000 US soldiers in Iraq. I was 20 in 2008, the first election I could vote in. I was reasonably politically aware at the time but still learning. One of my very basic litmus tests for being a decent, rational person is / was acceptance of gay marriage. I was quite surprised to find that Barack Obama, this liberal phenom who had become a household name overnight, was not publicly supporting such a cut-and-dry issue that would've been barely controversial among his constituency at the time. That was not the sole reason I didn't vote for him, but probably the jumping off point of being more skeptical of his candidacy. Of course, his change of opinion on gay marriage nearly mirrored opinion polls crossing the 50% mark, just like Clinton.

I voted for Obama twice. I feel duped.

by adam12 10y ago

I voted for Obama twice. I feel duped.

nolepointer 10y ago

That should have been obvious to you before the 2012 election. But okay.

tunap 10y ago
I believe Obama's pick for VP was an obvious enough contradiction of his platform. Retaining Gates & Geitner solidified, IMO, "change" was not in the cards. Trump is an anomoly to the vetted & selected candidates we usually get to "elect", for better or worse. His cabinet picks hint at the latter, time(not the MSM) will tell.

acjohnson55 10y ago

I'm pissed, but I don't feel duped. But that's simply because no serious presidential contender, save maybe Bernie Sanders, would have done otherwise. Well, maybe Trump. But I believe his distrust of the intelligence community is only due to the fact that he thinks their findings regarding Russia undermine his legitimacy. Once that blows over, I expect he'll be more than happy having the authoritarian tools of the intelligence community, if he's smart enough to heal the rift. What blows my mind a bit is that the rise of Trump should make it crystal clear just how dangerous these powers could be in the wrong hands. Obama should understand this more than anyone.

EGreg 10y ago
Ron Paul
ordbajsare 10y ago
"save maybe Bernie Sander" Pray for an asteroid! The strong will survive, and cunts like your will rot into forgotten memory.
pavlov 10y ago
I suspect that the intelligence apparatus is so influential across the administration that it's very hard for the President to rein it in. Obama has had to make compromises on which issues he's going to push for. The disappointingly slow progress on Guantánamo Bay was an example of this... And that's a single prison camp with a relative handful of people in it. Digital surveillance is an out-of-control monster that all branches of intelligence just want to have more of, as evidenced by this latest decision on data sharing.
- tomp 10y ago
  How difficult is it not to issue an Executive Order 10 days before leaving the office?!
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    I don't know how Executive Orders work; can they be rescinded, countermanded, or otherwise cancelled out by the succeeding President?
    - acjohnson55 10y ago
      Absolutely. Although it can be difficult to unwind all of their effects.
talmand 10y ago
There were many people pointing out the dangers of consolidating so much power into the Presidency over the last few years but most of them were told to shut up with their paranoia conspiracies and racist rhetoric.
- drabiega 10y ago
  It's probably the 'last few years' part that is what gets someone accused of racism. Pushing the boundaries of presidential power is not unique to Obama and indeed has no party affiliation.
  - jsight 10y ago
    Yeah, I think a lot of people have been concerned with this ever since 9/11 and the big expansions of power that seemed to go with it. I completely agree with you that there is no party affiliation with this, and to me that is the most concerning part.
- edc117 10y ago
  It also didn't help that Congress is more and more doing absolutely nothing of substance. The last 8 years have been nonstop obstructionism, and the next 4 appear to be headed the same way. (note: this is not to say I agree with overuse of executive powers, I do not.)
  - zaroth 10y ago
    Not sure why you think next 4 years will be the same... I think the next 4 years will be markedly different due to Trump leadership and Republican majorities in the House and Senate. We're hearing about Repeal & Replace in January, maybe as late as March and voting has already started to lay the framework to allow passage with 51 votes in the Senate.
    - dmix 10y ago
      Regardless Obama expanded executive power more than any president in history. So even if Trump doesn't plan to expand it he has plenty to work with already. I doubt he'll reverse it other than streamlining bloated intel agencies.
lucker 10y ago
>maybe Trump I doubt it. Trump has praised NSA surveillance in the past and has hinted that Snowden should be executed. Unless he was just saying such things to try to get the intelligence community on his side pre-election, he's in favor of authoritarian tools.
ComputerGuru 10y ago
> But that's simply because no serious presidential contender, save maybe Bernie Sanders, would have done otherwise. I have my own issues and gripes with him, but I feel that Rand Paul was also one of the few who spoke sanity when it came to all these matters. In the only primary debate he actually participated in, when asked about interfering in Syria, his response was "we've done that how many times now - when has it worked out for us?" which, of course, the populist audience did not like.
- acjohnson55 10y ago
  Fair point!

jra_samba 10y ago

Why ? Were you not paying attention ? https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/blogtalk-obamas-fisa-vote/?_r=0 https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/blogtalk-obam... In 2008, before the election, Obama clearly showed he would increase the surveillance state when in office. In what way did he dupe you ? He already showed what he would do in office in July 2008. Claiming buyer's remorse now is too little too late. The above vote was why I decided not to vote for him.

antisthenes 10y ago

His 2 biggest accomplishments are: 1. Gay marriage/rights 1.5 Pulling out of Iraq (half an accomplishment, because the US had no business being there in the first place) ACA is a dud, because it does nothing to address the artificially inflated costs. So, in 8 years, we traded gay marriage for insane massive surveillance and a 'recovery' in job growth in the gig economy. Is that a fair exchange? Maybe, for the LGBT community. To be fair, he did inherit a giant pile of shit in 2008, but to think of him as some accomplished or revolutionary leader is a mistake. In the end, he's just another centrist status quo "liberal".

des429 10y ago
Gay marriage is what makes headlines on the mainstream news. Clauses related to privacy hidden away in an executive order do not.
3131s 10y ago
Pulling out of Iraq (half an accomplishment, because the US had no business being there in the first place) Not even a half accomplishment considering that there are still 5000 US soldiers in Iraq. I was 20 in 2008, the first election I could vote in. I was reasonably politically aware at the time but still learning. One of my very basic litmus tests for being a decent, rational person is / was acceptance of gay marriage. I was quite surprised to find that Barack Obama, this liberal phenom who had become a household name overnight, was not publicly supporting such a cut-and-dry issue that would've been barely controversial among his constituency at the time. That was not the sole reason I didn't vote for him, but probably the jumping off point of being more skeptical of his candidacy. Of course, his change of opinion on gay marriage nearly mirrored opinion polls crossing the 50% mark, just like Clinton.